


Like A Good Neighbour

by FlatlinesU



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Human AU, M/M, Single Father Morality, Teacher Logic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-08 18:16:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11087235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlatlinesU/pseuds/FlatlinesU
Summary: AU where Logic and Morality are apartment neighbours and they meet because Logan can't dispose of bugs himself. A series of one-shots centred around their everyday shenanigans. Requests welcome.





	1. Spiders

Logan never usually talks to any of his neighbours. He's usually in too much of a hurry to have any proper conversations with any of them, with his teaching job taking up most of his time in the mornings and afternoons. No one in their right mind would even be awake in the ungodly hours that he has to get out of his apartment to get to his school.

That being said, his neighbour from across the hall is always there to greet him on the way out.

It's always a brief exchange between the two. Logan would be rushing out of the door with his briefcase of graded papers in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other, and he would catch a glimpse of a garishly bright blue polo shirt and an equally bright smile. Sometimes it's just a wave in greeting, other times it's a verbal call of "Morning, teach!"

Logan doesn't know his name and something tells him that his neighbour doesn't know his either. Somehow, that doesn't stop either of them from returning each other's brief early morning greetings. His bright smile and cheerful good mornings are always returned with a quick nod of acknowledgement or a good morning of his own, though significantly less cheerful than his. They aren't friends, per se. Heck, they're barely even _acquaintances_. Just two neighbours being polite, as good neighbours typically do.

_If so, what on earth am I doing?_

It's early in the weekend morning and Logan is standing outside of his neighbour's door, his arms crossed and his bare foot tapping restlessly against the wooden floor. To be perfectly honest, the reason for his early morning visit is a little pathetic. Illogical. It's one of the rare times that he regrets not getting some sort of flatmate. If he had one, he wouldn't be doing something this ridiculous and out of his character.

With a deep sigh towards his own absurdity, he raises his fist to the door and raps against it twice. Almost immediately, there's a distant crashing sound that he can't help but winces at and a muffled "Just a minute!" coming from inside.

The door flies open and his neighbour, while a little rumpled, is dressed in his usual attire and is smiling his usual million-watt smile. In only an old university shirt and loose-fitting boxers, Logan feels immensely underdressed.

"Morning, teach!" he chirps, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet with energy. Somehow, he doesn't notice or comment on his lack of proper pants. "What bring you here?"

"Oh, good morning. Erm..." Logan coughs into his fist, suddenly feeling a little apprehensive. Well, he's already too far in to back out. Might as well just get it over with. "I was wondering if you could assist me with something."

"Why, sure! Do you need help finding some pants?" he chortles at his own joke and Logan can't help but be reminded of a generic suburban father. The teacher barely has time to fully process his statement before he sobers up from his own joke. "I'm kidding. What can I do to help, kiddo?"

Definitely a generic suburban father. Logan feels like he can trust this man.

"There is, uh." Logan scratches his cheek, nearly knocking his glasses out of place. He murmurs the rest of his sentence, quiet enough that the other man barely hears it. He's still smiling, though it has a hint of confusion in it.

"Can you run that by me again?" he asks patiently. Logan grumbles and sighs, heat creeping up his face in embarrassment as he looks down at his feet.

"There is a spider. In my bathtub." Logan says a little louder. "I cannot get it out."

The two are silent for a few moments. When Logan looks up, the other man's expression is the oddest mix of amused and determined.

"Show me."

To his surprise, he simply adjusts the cardigan around his shoulders and marches straight to Logan's apartment across the hall, prompting him to trail behind wordlessly.

"It's over here." he says once they're both inside, still reeling over the surreality of the situation even as he leads his neighbour to the bathroom connected to his bedroom.

"Nice place!" he says, looking around at the books tucked away neatly and the miscellaneous scientific equipment scattered on his desk. "Do you have anything I could catch it with?"

Why he wouldn't just kill the thing is beyond him, but he doesn't question it. Thinking quickly, Logan grabs the Petri dish on his work desk and hands it to him. With a grateful smile, he disappears into the bathroom. It's a little odd having someone else in his apartment, especially considering that said person is someone that he barely knew and that same person is currently disposing of the multi-legged abomination in his bathtub.

"Hey there, little buddy." Came a murmur from inside the bathroom, partially muffled by the door. The man is having a one-sided conversation with the the spider and Logan isn't sure if it's adorable or weird. He tunes out the rest of the conversation and decides to put some pants on. No use scaring away the friendly man with his nudity, though he doesn't seem to mind all that much.

Logan is halfway to buttoning up his jeans when the cardigan-clad saviour emerges from the bathroom holding a the Petri dish upside down with his hand covering the opening.

"Is that...are you holding the spider right now?"

"Yup!" He tilts the glass cover towards him, giggling softly when he shrinks away with wide eyes. "Whoa, no need to be so perti-fied, teach."

That's probably the first time that Logan has seen someone so happy to be making full contact with a spider—wait a minute.

"Was that a pun?"

"You bet! And don't worry, I'm not actually holding it." He holds up the container between his thumb and index, his other hand resting as his hip. The spider inside tips to the side, but doesn't escape the container.

"Oh, well...thank you, I suppose." Logan adjusts his glasses before holding out his hand, "I don't believe we've been properly acquainted. My name is Logan. I apologize for the odd requests. Especially this early in the morning."

"Nah, don't worry about that. I'm just glad I could help." He grabs his hand and shakes it firmly, shooting him a dazzling smile. Logan feels almost blinded by it. "I'm Patton! Nice to finally have a name to the legend."

"Likewise." Logan clears his throat. What is he supposed to do now? It feels like forever since he last had a guest. "I was just about to make some coffee."

"Oh!" Patton lets go of his hand, his smile faltering slightly as it becomes almost shy, "Well, I should get going then. I have to let this little guy go—"

"Actually, um..." he blurts out before he could stop himself, "I was wondering if...you would like a cup? It's the least I can do to repay you for your help."

His smile returns full swing and Logan finds himself returning it, albeit his own more toned down version.

"Um...okay!" Patton giggles, bouncing on his heels again. "But I still need to put the spider outside."

"Oh, yes, of course."

 

 


	2. Good Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Logan doesn't know how to take care of small animals.

After the little bathtub incident, Logan didn't think that he would be interacting with his ball of sunshine of a neighbour outside of their usual early morning greetings. But after you've shown up in front of someone's door in your underwear asking for help killing a spider, you form bonds that are unbreakable by human standards.

Patton has made the effort to drop by occasionally with pleasant conversation and the occasional homemade baked good, which Logan greatly appreciates despite his usual dislike for small talk. It's almost impossible to not enjoy the company of someone with that much pure, unadulterated happiness.

(Though when he mentioned that to him, Patton insisted that he is very much an adult. Logan didn't have it in himself to correct him.)

At that point, the two have formed a bond that once would typically call 'friendship.'

\---

Logan wakes up the the sound of frantic knocking and a voice that, while clearly distressed, is undeniably Patton's. He paws at his side table for his glasses and shambles toward his front door with fatigue in his eyes and murder on his mind. Clearly, Logan is not a morning person.

When he opens the door, Patton's fist continues to pound on the empty hair for a few seconds before he processes that the door is no longer there. He blinks dazedly and his eyes wander downwards, letting Logan take that as a cue to question his motives.

"It is four in the morning." Logan says at the same time Patton says "You pants aren't on again."

"Of course not." The teacher rubs his hand over his eyes, knocking his glasses out of place. He does not have nearly enough caffeine in his system to be dealing with people. "As I mentioned prior to your brilliant observation, it is _four in the morning_."

"Okay, you have a point." Patton shakes his head and grips the leash that Logan notices for the first time. He also notices the small golden retriever puppy sniffing and bumping against Patton's leg. "I need your help."

"I thought it was against tenant rules to keep pets in your apartment."

"Yeah, that's the thing..." Suddenly, he's back to sounding agitated. Patton leans down to pick up the puppy and holds it in his arms. "My landlord's coming by later today and I need somewhere to keep Danny DeVito until the inspection is over."

Logan blinks, taking a moment to process that he's talking about the dog and not the famous actor comedian. But then the implications of his statement settles in.

"No."

"B-But, Logan!" The brightness drains from his expression so quickly as he hugs the puppy to his chest that it almost physically pains Logan to see it. Even as it starts licking at his cheek, Patton still looks crushed. "If the landlord sees that I'm keeping a pet without permission, they're going to make me get rid of him! A-And I might get kicked out, too. Please, Logan. Just for a few hours."

Even in his current grumpy state, Logan finds himself cracking under the force of the two puppy-dog pouts. Patton looks like he's about to cry and it almost looks wrong. Like he's not meant to frown under any circumstances. His tired glare is no match for Patton's unerring love for adorable animals and finally...

"Fine." Logan relents, wincing as Patton squeals loudly and bounces on his heels. He puts down Danny DeVito and the puppy trots inside Logan's apartment. "But only for a few hours."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, Logan! You're the best!" Patton pulls him into a hug that was so full of warmth that it wakes him up a little. He lets go just as quickly and suddenly his expression changes. Patton is still smiling, but there's the smallest hint of something underneath that sends an instinctive shiver down Logan's spine. "If anything happens to him, I will end you."

Well, that woke him up a little more. He watches Patton trot off back in his apartment as if he hadn't just threatened a man's life and he's left confused in his open doorway. With an exhausted sigh, he closes the door behind him and looks down at the puppy chewing on the leash attached to his collar. Logan eases the leash out of his mouth and picks him up, glaring slightly.

"Alright, Mr. DeVito. If this is going to work, I will have to set some ground rules." he says seriously to the squirming animal in his hands. "You will stay quiet and keep out of my belongings. If you chew or urinate on anything, you are going out into the street. Understood?"

Logan gets a stripe of slobber up his cheek as a response and he pulls back with a disgusted noise. He's talking to a dog; he definitely does not have enough caffeine in his system.

It takes a couple of attempts for him to detach the leash and he places it on the table as Danny DeVito totters around his living room uninhibited. He is quite adorable, Logan has to admit. In his experience, puppies are boundless little bundles of uninhibited zest and destruction, but this one seems surprisingly well-behaved. Patton must have trained him well.

He's reminded of his own tiredness when the puppy yawns with a whine and settles on one of Logan's throw pillows. A quick glance at the clock confirms that he does have a couple of hours left until he has to teach for the day. Logan carefully steps over his newfound animal companion and stalks back into his room, collapsing on his bed with a groan.

Just a couple more hours...

...

Or not.

"No, no, no!" Logan murmurs under his breath, nearly tripping over himself as he struggled to pull his jeans on. Of all the days to oversleep, it has to be today. He threw his shirt off and pulled on his usual black polo and blue tie, tying it with one hand as he chugs his coffee straight from the pot. It burns all the way down, but not as much as the burning disappointment in himself did. As he rushes around his apartment, Danny DeVito chases his heels and barks happily. At least someone is happy about the situation. Even if it's the slobbery animal that his neighbour-maybe-friend has thrust upon him on short notice.

Speaking of which, he stops just before running out the door and looks down at the bundle of fur and energy, whimpering and pawing at his heels as if he knows that Logan is going to leave him to fend for himself like some sort of heartless fiend.

Logan fights with himself for a solid minute. Is he actually going to bring a puppy to class with him? Patton's threat echoes though his mind and as terrifying as it was to hear something like that come out of someone like him, Logan doubts that Patton actually has it in his heart to hurt anyone. Right?

It's that unshakeable uncertainty and the puppy dog eyes that does him in and before he knows it, he's taking Danny DeVito into his arms as he rushing out the door.

\---

Logan has a reputation as one of the strictest and most efficient teachers in the school board. Even at such a relatively young age, he's already certified to teach English, Science, and History. He's entrusted to be impeccable with everything he does and he always delivers with that trust.

So when he shows up five minutes late to his first period class with a golden retriever, people assumes that they've come across some weird parallel universe and they're understandably scared. No one says anything because as weird as it all is, everyone is still really scared of Mr. Sanders.

"And so, the death of Desdemona was seen as—no, Danny DeVito, please settle down—the death of Desdemona signalled the death of Othello's innocence, as well as a point of no return for Othello's sanity."

This is definitely some sort of weird fever dream.

Logan is holding the puppy in one arm as he holds a book in his free hand, droning on with his lesson as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Though occasionally, Danny DeVito would get too restless and would try to squirm out of the teacher's grip or chew on his precious tie. When that happens, Logan has to stop his lecture long enough to pull the tie out of his mouth or adjust his grip so he didn't face Patton's unknown wrath later.

It's a little funny watching someone who's usually so on top of things struggle with reigning in an unruly baby animal, but no one dares to laugh out loud. But they're all doing it, inside their heads. At one point, a brave foolish soul takes out his phone to Snapchat the ordeal.

"Um, sir?"

"Yes, Jin, what is it?" Logan stops with his fumbling to look up at the student in a baggy jumper who raises their hand. They jump as if they didn't expect his attention, but quickly recovers.

"Would, um, would you like some help with, uh...?" Jin scratches their cheek sheepishly, "I have dogs at home. And you're definitely not holding him right."

Logan is extremely tempted to let them hold onto the puppy for the time being, but...

"That's quite alright. If anything happens to him, a wrathful suburban father is going to have my neck."

Needless to say, no learning was done that day.

\---

"My baby!"

Patton's voice echoes through the hallway and Logan's exhausted mind is vaguely aware of the thud of approaching footsteps before he sees a blur of bright blue speeding towards him. His arms were spread wide and Logan fully expects a hug, but then Patton kneels down and gathers the golden retriever in his arms, giggling as his face is covered in overexcited licks. Logan tries not to feel disappointed. Why on earth would he feel disappointed? Don't be absurd.

"And how were my good boys?"

"Erm, it was fine. You have trained him well. How was the inspection?" he asks as he hands the other man the leash, letting the tension leak out of his shoulders as the weight of responsibility leaves him.

"Amazing! Looks like we're gonna be neighbours for a bit longer." Patton gasps, "We should celebrate! Do you like chilli? Because I make the best chilli in the world, lemme tell you."

"A lot of people say that they make the best food, Patton." Logan comments, stifling a smirk when the he gets a pout in response. "But I suppose I will be the judge of that. Be warned; you have some stiff competition."

"Challenge accepted!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you tell that I never know how to end chapters?


End file.
